And Also Reindeer
by Kakashisgf
Summary: Sakura hunts Kakashi down to find out why he refuses to come to Christmas dinner. What she finds is nothing she could ever have anticipated. A Kakasaku story.


**A/N:** This is a (super, super, super late) Secret Santa present for the wonderful hypereuni, based on the prompt "What do you mean you're ACTUALLY Santa?!"

As the prompt might suggest, this is very much a crackfic, so characters are OOC, and there are occasionally plotholes big enough for an entire sleigh to fall through. Don't think too much about it.

In addition to the warnings above, beware of tooth-rotting fluff and PG-13-level shenanigans. Also, apologies for the excessive length. I don't know how that happened.

Shoutout to lindt luirae/bouncyirwin for brainstorming with me (read her stories!). Lastly, go check out hypereuni's works on AO3 on FFN! You will not regret it.

* * *

Sakura was on a mission. This mission was not sanctioned by Konoha—in fact, she was certain that the Hokage was wholly against it.

And yet, she could not fail.

"Where is he?" she muttered to herself as she peeked in through the window to find an empty bed covered by a shuriken-patterned comforter. She didn't sense any chakra within the apartment, but her target was highly skilled; she had no doubt that he could conceal his presence well enough that even her senses, honed over years and enhanced with perfect chakra control, couldn't locate him.

Gritting her teeth, she decided to hold off on committing B&E this early in the morning. She'd already been to the apartment once, now having come back after checking the cenotaph and all six of his known reading spots in the hopes that maybe he'd returned home, thinking he was safe from her. There was no way he was already at the office, not with his tendencies, so she hadn't bothered heading there, but as she stood outside his bedroom window, she wondered if she might not have underestimated his dedication to his job ...

She snorted. Yeah, right. The only thing that could get Hatake Kakashi to arrive on time was the release of a new edition of one of his beloved novels. Honestly, he was pretty much a jerk, when she really thought about it ... which she did. Often. Usually when trying to talk herself out of finding him attractive.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sakura sighed. She was not going to have this internal debate again. They were friends, that was it.

And friends went to friends' Christmas Eve dinners.

With renewed determination, Sakura jumped off his balcony onto a neighboring roof. She would check the little restaurant he liked to frequent, and if she didn't find him there, she'd camp out in his office until his lazy ass showed up, and then she'd tear him a new one until he agreed to go to Naruto's that night.

* * *

Sakura had started to nod off against the wall inside the Hokage's office when she felt the tell-tale _woosh_ of a person arriving through a window.

"Kakashi!" she growled, immediately awake and hopping to her feet. "Give me one good reason you can't make it to the team Christmas dinner this year."

Despite the threatening waves emanating from his former student, the Rokudaime looked distinctly unconcerned, bored even.

And that was why she hated him.

He pulled out his chair and calmly took a seat before dragging a stack of papers in front of him. "I've never made it to Christmas dinner, Sakura," he said finally, meeting her eyes for a moment before picking up his pen.

Undeterred by his clear dismissal, Sakura slammed her palms down on his desk. "Yeah, because you always had a mission. But you're Hokage now … you don't have a mission."

With a sigh, Kakashi looked up at her. "Being Hokage _is _a mission."

Sakura leveled him with an unimpressed gaze. "Bullshit. I saw you passed out with your face in an open _Icha Icha Tactics _in here just the other day."

"Ah! That reminds me …" Kakashi reached for his desk drawer … and promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sakura glared at his empty chair and clenched her fist tightly. "Ka. Ka. Shiiiiiii!"

* * *

When Kakashi stepped through the door to his apartment later that evening, Sakura was waiting. She had attempted to find him for over an hour after he'd poofed out of his office but had had no luck, so she'd decided to give up the chase and wait instead where she knew he'd have to go eventually: home.

"You know, Sakura, sitting around in the dark in someone else's apartment is kind of creepy …" he frowned as he flipped on the lights.

Satisfied that he didn't seem inclined to run away from her again, Sakura merely shrugged from her seat at his kitchen table. "Why aren't you coming to Christmas dinner?"

He sighed. "Would you believe me if I said I had a prior obligation?"

Sakura's eyes followed him as he walked past her to fill his tea kettle. "No."

"Well, I do," he said, setting the kettle on the stove before leaning back against the counter to face her.

"Kakashi, the only friends you have who aren't already going to be at that dinner are Gai and Genma, and I know for a fact that you don't come within a hundred yards of Gai from the first time a Christmas song comes on the radio until after the New Year, and Genma is going to be with Shizune, so unless you consider reading porn alone in bed a 'prior obligation', which I _don't_, you have no excuse not to be there."

Kakashi tapped his fingers on the edge of the counter thoughtfully. "You make excellent points, Sakura. Nonetheless, I do have a prior obligation."

She let out a frustrated, disbelieving huff. "And what could that possibly be?"

He tilted his head, eyes on her. "I have to deliver presents to approximately 6.5 million children."

There was a pregnant pause. Sakura scanned his face for signs of joking, for one of those infuriatingly sexy (if masked) smirks he usually wore when he had fun at her expense, but when all she saw was his normal blank look, she frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, it is Christmas Eve," Kakashi replied matter-of-factly, as though that were all the explanation needed.

"I am aware …" Sakura's flat tone contained just a hint of danger. "What does that have to do with you supposedly having to deliver millions of presents?"

Her former sensei shrugged and turned to pull two teacups down from the cabinet.

"Kakashi …" Sakura drummed her fingers pointedly on the table. "What … do you mean … when you say ... you have … to deliver presents?"

The kettle whistled loudly through the silence that followed her question, and she watched him remove it from the heat and pour the steaming water over the teabags he'd placed in their cups.

"Stop ignoring me," she insisted, but to her eternal consternation, the silver-haired bane of her existence simply walked over and set her tea in front of her.

"I'm not ignoring you; I'm bringing you a lovely cup of you favorite sanpin-cha."

Kakashi gave her the slight creasing of his eyes that told her he knew he was being a shit, and she made an aggravated sound before blowing lightly on her tea while he took a seat across from her. "You're an ass," she scowled.

He gave her a quick wink that she refused to find attractive. "You like me anyway."

"Sometimes I truly wonder why …" she muttered with an eyeroll and the faintest of blushes. "Now quit avoiding the question and explain your ridiculous supposed reason for not spending Christmas Eve with us."

Kakashi didn't respond for another minute, and she narrowed her gaze at him, silently promising pain if he didn't cooperate.

"I can't," he sighed finally. "It's a secret."

Sakura frowned. She was more than aware that her former sensei preferred his privacy and continued to carefully cultivate the elusiveness he was known for even after all this time, but she'd thought they'd gotten close enough since the war that he at least trusted her.

"Kakashi, you know you can tell me anything, right?" she asked quietly, the gentle question in direct contrast with her earlier demands.

To her surprise, Kakashi looked down at the table, and she caught the slightest of twitches in the fingers holding his teacup. If she didn't know better, she'd have said he was nervous ...

"You wouldn't believe me anyway," he murmured, and Sakura's frown deepened.

"I mean, I know you're lying approximately 75% of the time you're talking, but I can usually tell when you're not," she argued teasingly.

Kakashi's eyes flickered back up to hers, and he seemed to be searching for something in her gaze. After a full minute of studying her, he let out a long breath.

"I've never had a mission on Christmas Eve," he admitted flatly.

Sakura's confusion only increased. "What are you talking about?"

"All those years I said I couldn't come to dinner, it wasn't because of a mission." He paused. "Or, well, not a mission for the village anyway."

"So why didn't you come?" she wondered, starting to feel just a little bit of hurt creeping in. If he really didn't want to spend time with her—with them—so much so that he made up a mission, then …

Kakashi must have seen through her line of thinking, because he immediately attempted to reassure her. "It's not that, Sakura. I wasn't purposely avoiding you."

"Then what?"

She thought she caught a hint of pink dusting the bit of his cheeks above the edge of his mask, and he looked down at the table again.

"The truth of it is …" he said quietly, "the truth is, I'm Santa Claus."

There was a weighted silence, and then Sakura burst out laughing.

"What the hell, Kakashi?" she bit out between guffaws. "I knew you were ridiculous, but this …" She broke out in a fresh round of giggles. "This is a whole other level. Santa Claus … ahahaha!"

She couldn't stop laughing loudly for a solid minute, and then it took several more for her to completely calm down and catch her breath, but when she did, she realized that he wasn't chuckling in that way he usually did when he teased her, and she opened her eyes to find him regarding her with a solemn look on his face.

"... Kakashi?" When his expression didn't falter for a second, Sakura's confusion mounted. "You can't … Kakashi, you can't be serious …"

"I am."

She gaped, her mind unable to believe he wasn't joking.

"On my mother's side," he added. "Her maiden name was Claus."

Sakura was starting to wonder if she needed to be making arrangements for a bed in the psychiatric ward. He seemed so _earnest_ … but it couldn't possibly be true. Santa Claus didn't exist.

"Are you maybe … having a psychotic break?" she prompted hesitantly, reaching across the table out of instinct but managing to stop herself short of holding his hand. The last thing she wanted to do at that moment was make him uncomfortable.

Kakashi sighed. "I'm not any less sane than usual, Sakura. I really am Santa."

At a loss for words, Sakura slumped back in her chair.

"So you're saying …" her voice trailed off.

"That Santa is real? Yes." Kakashi took a calm sip of his tea, his nervousness seemingly having dissipated in the wake of his confession.

"But how …?"

"Think about it, Sakura. How could it possibly work without kage bunshin? One man could not deliver all of those presents in one day."

"Um … well … yes, I suppose that's true …" Sakura was still in a daze. There was no way they were really having this conversation …

But she didn't detect a lie in what he was saying.

Brow furrowed pensively, a sudden thought occurred to her. "Wait, 'on your mother's side'? Is being Santa hereditary or something?"

Kakashi chuckled. "It seems preferable to using a body-snatching jutsu to stay alive forever, doesn't it?"

Sakura was immediately beset by a mental image of Orochimaru in a Santa costume, long tongue hanging loose, and she shuddered. "Yes, yes, it does."

"Would you like something a bit stronger?" Kakashi asked abruptly, gesturing to their teacups.

She hesitated. "We're supposed to be at Naruto's in an hour ..."

"I already told you I can't go, Sakura," he sighed.

"Right, right … delivering presents …" Her skepticism was clear, but Kakashi didn't seem to mind as he stood up to grab a bottle of sake from the fridge.

Sakura drained her tea and obediently held out her cup for him to pour. They were quiet for a moment, but it wasn't long before Sakura was back to musing about her companion's frankly insane claim. "I would have thought you got it through your dad, what with the silver hair and all."

Kakashi shrugged. "My mom had white hair."

She raised a brow teasingly. "So basically you were destined to look like an old man from conception …"

"I do not look like an old man," Kakashi contended with a narrowed gaze. "I'm barely over thirty."

"Mmhm," Sakura hummed indulgently, then perked up. "Is Rudolph real too? Tell me Rudolph is real." Since it seemed they truly were going to have this surreal conversation, she figured she might as well play along, at least until he either admitted he was joking or she woke up to find that it was all just a really—_really_—bizarre dream.

Kakashi shook his head. "Sorry, Sakura, Rudolph is just a kids' story."

"But there _are_ reindeer?" she insisted, bringing her cup to her lips. She thought she saw Kakashi's eyes flicker to follow the movement and linger just a half-second too long, but when he met her gaze again, his expression was the same as always.

She ignored the little flash of disappointment that curled in her stomach. _Just friends, Sakura, just friends …_

"Yes, there are reindeer. I summon them when it's time to leave," he answered, oblivious to her inner turmoil.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought your summons was ninken?"

"It is. And also reindeer."

_Also reindeer … _Sakura considered asking him to summon one right then as evidence, but she didn't think a reindeer would fit in his small kitchen, and she knew he wouldn't do it outside; if by some miracle he were actually telling the truth, he wouldn't risk revealing his secret that way.

"What about the workshop? Do you have a workshop?" she asked instead.

Kakashi seemed to hesitate. "There isn't a 'workshop' per se …"

"OK, so do you have helpers then, elves or whatever?"

He glanced up at the ceiling. "Mm … more like genin doing D-rank missions."

"Genin?!" Sakura sputtered. This joke was becoming more ridiculous by the second ...

"Yeah, from Byakuyagakure," he shrugged.

Her eyes widened. "Byakuyagakure? Like 'Village Hidden in the North Pole'?"

"Yup."

"Well, that's original …" she muttered.

Kakashi just let out a little laugh. "Technically, it _is_ the original. The 'Hidden' part just got lost in the stories over the years."

"Of course it did," Sakura nodded, like any of this was making sense. "So does that make you the … what's the Kage called there?"

"Fuyukage. And it does, yes."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "So you're the Hokage and the Fuyukage …"

"I'm very accomplished," Kakashi agreed solemnly.

Sakura had to giggle at that, only to be caught off-guard by the small smile she received in return. Her cheeks flushed ever so slightly ... he may have been trying to pull one over on her, but she couldn't help that he made her heart flutter even so.

Mentally shaking her thoughts away, she considered what else to ask him. There had to be a way to trip him up … _A-ha!_

Lips curling into a devious grin, she leaned over the table. "So … is there a Mrs. Claus?"

If she had surprised him, Kakashi made no sign of it. He merely leaned forward himself and smirked. "Why—you offering?"

Sakura's face blazed, and she quickly sat up, spine rigid. "Th-that's not what I meant!"

Kakashi laughed, resting back and looking way too pleased with himself. "Too bad. You'd look really cute in a little red velvet dress."

If her cheeks could have gotten any pinker, she was sure they would have. These were the kinds of comments that made it even more difficult for her to get over her crush on him … she knew he was only teasing, because he couldn't _really_ be interested in her, but they made her stomach flip anyway.

She hated that she loved it.

"Speaking of outfits," she said, willing away her embarrassment, "what about the beard? No way you're hiding a Santa beard under that mask … or is that why you wear the mask?"

"No, Sakura, I'm not wearing a mask to hide a Santa beard," Kakashi sighed.

She looked at him slyly. "Prove it."

He huffed out a small laugh. "You're going to have to do better than that if you want to see my face."

Sakura pouted. "Well, what do you do then? You can't possibly grow a giant, bushy beard in a few hours."

"Who says I can't?" Kakashi countered. She goggled in disbelief, but he just chuckled. "Henge, Sakura, henge."

She narrowed her eyes at him, then turned away, muttering under her breath, "Hmph. Not like I wanted to see you in a beard anyway. Don't even know what you look like in the first place. Definitely never imagined you dressed like a lumberjack … beard, flannel … nope ..."

"Lumberjack?"

Startled, Sakura looked up to find Kakashi watching her with an expectant eyebrow raise. _Damn his hearing …_

"Do you have a thing for beards, Sa-ku-ra?" he drawled, amusement all too clear in his tone, and his question only served to make her more flustered.

"I mean, I wouldn't say no to a five o'clock shadow …" she admitted grudgingly as she studied her cup, cheeks pink yet again.

"I'll take that under advisement," Kakashi said, and something in his voice made her heart beat faster.

Desperate to deflect attention away from herself, she latched onto the first thing that came to mind that wasn't related to wondering what it would be like brush her fingers—or her lips—along his stubbled jawline. "So do you henge the big belly too?"

"I have to look like Santa, don't I?" Kakashi replied simply.

She nodded. "I suppose you do."

"Can't be disappointing the kids." His eyes crinkled.

At that, Sakura's brow arched. "Have any kids ever even seen you?"

Kakashi snorted. "Of course not. I'm a ninja."

"You're Santa."

"Ninja Santa."

Sakura giggled at his affronted expression. "Still Santa."

Kakashi grumbled, but his sideways glance at her was warm, and she took the opportunity to refill his sake.

"There is one thing I've always wondered about the whole Santa legend," she said.

"It's not a legend," Kakashi corrected.

Sakura still didn't believe that, but she let it slide. "Anyway, I've always wondered how Santa can be real if the parents are the ones buying the presents."

Kakashi took a drink, then shrugged. "They aren't."

"What?" she stared at him, uncomprehending.

"They don't buy the presents … they just think they do."

"Um …" Sakura wasn't sure what to say to that.

"It's a kekkei genkai, kind of like a mass genjutsu thing."

She blinked. "You brainwash parents into thinking they bought their children's Christmas presents?"

"It's not brainwashing if it's for a good cause, Sakura," Kakashi frowned.

She inclined her chin. "So Santa is really just a fat, bearded Madara, got it."

Kakashi didn't say anything for a moment, then he scratched the back of his neck. "... kind of."

Sakura took in the sheepish look on his face and couldn't help but laugh. He joined her a moment later, and the atmosphere in his kitchen grew cozy. They refilled their cups again, and she sat back. She had to give him credit … he had yet to show a crack in his story. But even if he had managed to maintain it so far, she still couldn't bring herself to believe him, and she was determined to catch him in the lie so he had no more excuses to avoid going to dinner.

"How do you know what the kids want?" she asked. "Do you actually get letters to Santa?"

"Not exactly … I've got chuunin spies," he admitted.

"Year-round?!"

He nodded. "Year-round."

She hummed. "What about the kids who don't write letters?"

"Let's just say Konoha isn't the only village with a Yamanaka population," Kakashi grinned.

Sakura couldn't help but imagine a bunch of Inos in elf costumes, which then led to her imagining a bunch of Inoichis in elf costumes. She stifled a laugh. "Do the ninja from the North Pole even wear elf costumes?"

She hadn't realized she'd wondered that out loud until Kakashi answered. "When they're in the village. Elf shoes are surprisingly effective at hiding weapons."

Sakura tried to picture ninja in curled-toed booties with little bells but ended up shaking her head. "I can't."

Kakashi, apparently suspecting what she was thinking, laughed. "You know, you can see for yourself if you want."

"I—what?"

"It's almost time for me to leave. You can join me if you're up for it." He punctuated his offer with a challenging grin.

Sakura squinted at him. She was not expecting that. "What evil are you plotting?"

Kakashi held out his hands placatingly. "I'm just offering to let you tag along."

"While you deliver presents."

"Yes."

"As Santa Claus."

"Yes."

Kakashi stood to put the bottle of sake back in the fridge while she studied him, trying to figure out his angle.

"I can hear the cogs in your brain turning from over here, Sakura. Just come with me," he remarked, closing the refrigerator door.

Sakura met his eyes, and all she saw was genuine desire for her to go with him. In fact, his expression was more open than she thought she'd ever seen on him, and a part of her, the irrational (possibly drunk) part that whispered that maybe he wasn't joking, wondered if sharing that secret with her had brought them closer.

Her stomach flipped, and she sighed. What did she have to lose? If by some chance she did end up in the North Pole, surely Naruto would forgive her for missing dinner ...

"All right," she agreed finally.

Kakashi crinkled his eyes and walked over to ruffle her hair on his way toward the bathroom. "Let me get the seal set up."

"Seal?"

"Yep. You should put on your shoes … it'll be cold where we're going," he advised, then disappeared down the hall.

Curious, Sakura followed his instructions before padding after him. When she saw that he'd left the door open, she poked her head in to find him scribbling an elaborate pattern over the tub with his bloody thumb.

"Your portal to the North Pole is your bathtub?" she remarked flatly.

Kakashi chuckled. "I suppose it doesn't have to be … I just find it easier to clean up when I get back."

"... fair."

It only took a few more minutes for him to prepare the seal. When he finished, he held out his hand. Watching him suspiciously, she placed her palm on his, and he led her to the tub. Before she stepped in, she narrowed her eyes at him. "If you're planning to do something I won't like, you'd better give up on that idea right now."

"Sakura," Kakashi started, a grin teasing at his masked lips. "I promise you, you'll love anything I do to you."

His voice had dropped to a dark, low tone that made her suddenly hyper-aware of the warmth of his fingertips on her hand, and it combined with the way he was looking at her to flood her senses; she could do nothing more than stare at him, mouth slightly agape.

His grin turned just a little rakish, and her eyes followed as he climbed into the tub instead, then used his hold on her to tug her forward and lift her up with both hands on her waist before setting her down beside him. It was a testament to how much he'd caught her off-guard with his comment that she didn't even come close to reacting in time to stop him.

And now she was inches away from him in the confines of his bathtub.

Her cheeks flushed a violent red, and he clearly noticed, because he tapped the tip of her nose lightly with amusement in his eyes. "Ready?"

She mentally shook her head to clear her mind. "Um … yes?"

She had no idea what she was actually agreeing to, but she found she couldn't say no to him when he looked at her like that, and the next thing she knew, he was sliding his palms around to the small of her back.

"Hold tight," he murmured, his breath brushing her ear as he pulled her close enough that her chest pressed against his strong pectorals.

Sakura's brain promptly short-circuited, and the next thing she knew, there was a chill in the air and snow falling on her head.

"What the …" Lifting her eyes to the night sky now above her, she had to blink as delicate white flakes got caught in her eyelashes.

They appeared to be in some sort of town square, standing beside the biggest Christmas tree she'd ever seen. It was nearly twenty feet tall, covered with large, multicolored lights and bedecked with silver and red garland, beads, and hundreds upon hundreds of snow-dusted ornaments of various shapes and sizes. A sparkly white star adorned the top, its glow luminous against the inky sky.

Letting her vision pan around, she saw that the square was surrounded by dozens of quaint little shops that looked almost like gingerbread houses, all scalloped green and crimson shingles, ornate white trim, and wreath-covered doors. Groups of people walked by, bundled up and carrying shopping bags or cups of steaming drinks as they laughed together. The red lampposts were wrapped with ribbon to look like candy canes, and a quartet of carolers was performing beneath one for a small crowd on the corner. She may or may not have spotted someone roasting chestnuts over an open fire.

"Kakashi …" she breathed, and at that precise moment, she realized that not only was he still holding her, but her arms were also looped around his neck.

With a start, she jumped back and made the hand seal to release genjutsu, shutting her eyes tightly. "Kai!"

A moment passed, but she didn't have to open her eyes to know that nothing had happened, because snow was still falling on her face and her nose was growing cold.

"You … weren't kidding, were you?" she whispered, meeting his gaze for the first time since they'd arrived in, apparently, the North Pole.

He crinkled his eyes. "Nope. Now let's get you somewhere warm … I wouldn't be a very good Santa if I let you freeze to death on your first trip to the North Pole."

Despite the surrealism of the whole situation, a part of what he'd said stood out to her. "First trip?"

"Ah, well, assuming you want to come back sometime, that is," Kakashi amended, scratching the back of his neck.

Sakura hadn't yet fully come out of her daze, but she was aware enough to see that his cheeks were faintly pink, and it made her smile inwardly. Trust that man to switch from seductive to awkward at the drop of a hat ...

"Okay," she agreed. "Show me to the Fuyukage tower or whatever, Santa."

Kakashi shook his head. "I was thinking we'd peek into one of the warehouses."

Sakura looked at him curiously. "Warehouses?"

"Mmhm. Where the genin wrap all the presents."

He took her hand once more, and though it made her heart race, she didn't want to pull away, so she let him lead her out of the square and onto an adorable side street of shops and restaurants. She noted a chocolatier with rows of intricate candies displayed in its windows and a shoe store advertising the infamous elf booties in myriad shades of red and green, some with bells and some without. It did seem to be more of a novelty item than a regular purchase, though, as the majority of the merchandise was normal footwear, and she had the thought that maybe Kakashi had been teasing about the ninja using them after all. When she asked, he laughed and admitted that perhaps he'd exaggerated that part just a little bit.

"Residents do like to wear the traditional shoes this time of year, though," he said. "Especially the kids. They all want to be elves when they grow up."

"But I thought elves didn't exist?"

"Even the North Pole has its Christmas tales," Kakashi shrugged. "The warehouses are off-limits to civilians, so there are always rumors about what goes on inside them."

They'd reached the end of the row of shops, and a frozen creek lay before them, a red, arched wooden bridge with decorative spindles providing access across to where a dense copse of snow-covered pine trees lined either side of the street ahead. With old-fashioned lampposts tied with crimson bows lighting the way, it looked like a postcard.

"It's beautiful here," she admitted softly, and Kakashi squeezed her hand.

"I'm glad you think so." His voice was rich and warm, and she felt it like a tender heat threading its way from her heart down to her toes.

With a small smile, she squeezed his hand back as they headed toward the bridge, where Kakashi warned her to watch her footing.

"We do our best, but it does still get icy sometimes," he said as they both channeled chakra to their feet to keep from slipping.

"Does it always snow here?" she asked, trying not to think about the fact that they were still holding hands and that that was very out of character for the Rokudaime Hokage. The world around them was already dreamlike … what could it hurt to enjoy the way it almost felt like they were on a date? She'd probably never have another chance.

Her thoughts had her semiconsciously leaning toward him, but Kakashi seemed to pay it no mind, perhaps even drifting a little closer himself, though she was probably imagining that part.

"It doesn't snow all the time, but there's pretty much always at least some on the ground. It is Winter Country, after all," he answered.

Sakura hummed, and they fell into a companionable silence as they continued on. It wasn't long before they reached an impressive wrought-iron gate, the metal twisted into complicated snowflake and ornament designs. Curiously, even though the gate wasn't solid, she couldn't see anything through the gaps, just darkness and more snow.

She looked up at him. "Cloaking jutsu?"

He nodded. "Like I said, off-limits to civilians."

He proceeded to execute a series of hand signs, at the end of which the gate creaked open, and suddenly Sakura was met with the sight of at least half a dozen very large buildings, clearly industrial in purpose, but as gingerbread house-like in appearance as the shops in the square. The area was well-lit, and people were hurrying to and fro, balancing piles of presents in both hands or pushing carts filled to the brim with colorfully wrapped boxes. There was a sense of urgency running throughout the whole area.

"Santa-sama!" a harried voice called out from behind them.

With some reluctance, Sakura let her hand slip out of Kakashi's and turned to find a young man rushing toward them with a frown on his face. He was obviously a ninja if his light footsteps and attire were anything to go by, his hitae-ate engraved with, she saw to her amusement, a snowflake. It and his uniform were both a deep Christmas red, while his flak jacket was pure white. She wondered how hard it was to keep clean.

"Santa-sama, you're late!" he scolded. "Again!"

Sakura shot Kakashi a raised eyebrow. "I see your habits are no different here …" she murmured.

He just gave her the most innocent expression in his arsenal, and she rolled her eyes.

"Hi, I'm Haruno Sakura," she greeted, ignoring him in favor of holding out a hand to the Fuyugakure ninja.

"Yuki," the young man replied, looking at her consideringly as he shook her hand, then turned to Kakashi. "You can show your girl around later, Santa-sama. We need to prepare the bunshin and summon the reindeer and review your itinerary. The first round of sleighs is already packed and ready to go."

Sakura's eyes widened at being referred to as Kakashi's girl, and she glanced up at him to find him looking down at her out of the corner of his eye. She couldn't tell if the color on the visible parts of his cheeks was due to the cold or a blush, but she got the sense that he was particularly invested in her reaction to what Yuki had said. When she didn't correct the young ninja, his gaze turned soft, and he took her hand in his once more.

"Come on, then," he sighed. "The warehouses will have to wait."

Yuki nodded approvingly, then turned on his heel and headed off at a steady clip. Kakashi led her in the same direction, apparently unaware of the way her heart was thundering in her ears. He didn't _have _to hold her hand; she was more than capable of following without his guidance, yet he had reached for her anyway. What did it mean? Why did he keep going out of his way to touch her? And why hadn't he corrected his subordinate? She wasn't his girl, no matter how much she wanted to be, no matter how much he teased her.

_And yet … _

A small part of her was beginning to hope that maybe he wasn't just teasing, that maybe he _was_ interested in her the same way she was interested in him. Chancing another peek at him as they walked, she was surprised to meet his eye and quickly looked away, flushing.

_Maybe …_

After turning at the end of the row of warehouses, they came upon what appeared to be a massive garage. It had no less than twenty-five doors, and she could see that every door allowed a depth of five vehicles, which happened to be large red sleighs in this case. The sleighs closest to the exits each had a black velvet bag crammed into its carriage, obviously having been stuffed to the brim before being tied off with a gold ribbon drawstring.

As she stared in wonder at the evidence of just what kind of complex operation lay behind the story of Santa Claus, she felt a little tug on her hand.

"This way," Kakashi urged, and she allowed herself to be escorted through a side door she hadn't noticed before.

The door led to a rather large room, where ten or so ninja were gathered around a heavy wooden table, variously pointing at something on it or jotting down notes onto a clipboard. When they got closer, she could see that they were hovering over a sizable map.

"S12 will take the northeast quadrant of Water Country first round, the southwest quadrant of Lightning Country second round ... Ah, Santa-sama, you're here. We're just finalizing the routes."

The ninja who had been talking looked up as they approached, adjusting the pair of green-rimmed glasses on her nose. She was not dressed in the same uniform as Yuki and the other ninja at the table, but she carried herself like a shinobi and was clearly senior to the rest, so Sakura took her for a jounin.

"I see you've brought a guest," the kunoichi remarked, her eyes dropping to Sakura and Kakashi's joined hands, and Sakura thought she detected a hint of disapproval in her voice.

Kakashi nodded. "Umeko, this is Sakura. Sakura, Umeko."

The woman's eyebrows lifted in surprise, but they quickly lowered as she leveled Sakura with a steely gaze. Bemused, Sakura stepped forward to shake her hand, but all she received in return was a tight smile.

"If you'll excuse me, we're on a deadline," Umeko said curtly before focusing again on Kakashi. "Santa-sama, once you have all the clones, we'll give them each their itinerary. When do you anticipate they'll be ready to go?"

Feeling a bit miffed, Sakura zoned out of the actual conversation in favor of studying the bespectacled woman. It was possible that Umeko was just hyper-professional, but Sakura suspected it was a little more than that, especially when the kunoichi came around the table to show Kakashi something on her clipboard; she seemed to hover just a smidge too close, and every so often, her eyes flickered over to where he still held Sakura's hand, her frown deepening with each glance. It made Sakura wonder what exactly Umeko was to Kakashi, and even though she knew it was irrational on more than one level, she couldn't stop the spark of jealousy that started to burn in her chest. This woman had known something essential about Kakashi for _years_, while Sakura had been clueless. Yes, he'd told her eventually, and yes, she completely understood why he hadn't before, but still, she'd thought … well, she didn't know what she'd thought, but it certainly hadn't involved some snooty jounin from a land she'd never even heard of until that very night.

As if he could sense what she was thinking, Kakashi took advantage of a brief moment where Umeko was distracted to lean down and whisper in Sakura's ear. "Just a few more minutes, and then I'm all yours," he told her.

_All … yours … ? _Did he really mean that the way it sounded? Surely it was a figure of speech …

But ...

Her heart thundered in her chest as Kakashi turned back to the larger conversation, his masked lips grazing the rim of her ear in a way that she couldn't help but think was intentional, and then his thumb was tracing lazy circles on the back of her hand, and she had the thought that she may have been going so far to protect herself the last couple of years that she'd ignored numerous signs that would have been clear indications of romantic interest had they come from any other man.

And was Hatake Kakashi really that different from other men? Was it really so impossible that he might be attracted to her? Their history made things a bit more complicated, but even so, _she'd_ fallen for _him_ ... why couldn't the reverse also be true?

Sakura was still contemplating the possibility that Kakashi returned her feelings when his conversation with Umeko wrapped up and he turned to her.

"I need to get my bunshin ready, so I suppose I'll have to take my hand back," he said, but he didn't move, and she got the sense that he didn't want to. The thought sent butterflies fluttering about her stomach.

"I guess if you have to …" she replied, daring to let some of her own reluctance color her words. "But I want it back later."

She'd kept her tone teasing in case she needed to play it off as a joke, but he just gave her a warm grin. "I think I can live with that," he murmured without letting go of her hand.

She felt her face flush and reflexively bit her lip to stave off a giddy smile. His eyes followed the movement, and when they met hers again, the heat in their grey depths was dangerously close to that of a man who wanted to kiss a woman. It made her breath threaten to catch in her throat.

"Kakashi …" she whispered.

He stepped a little closer. "Yes?"

His voice was low as he drew out the word, his gaze never leaving hers, but before she could say anything in response, Yuki called out to them from the far corner of the room. "Santa-sama, we really need to get going."

It took another moment for Kakashi to break eye contact, during which time Sakura worried that her heart might actually stop, so she was both relieved and disappointed when he finally let his hand slide from hers, his fingers dancing along her palm, then turned to join Yuki. She stood rooted in place for several seconds before managing to collect herself enough to follow.

As she walked up to them, she saw Yuki passing Kakashi a glass filled with what appeared to be milk, of all things, and then she noticed that the Fuyugakure ninja held a plate piled high with cookies in his other hand.

She blinked and turned to Kakashi. "Are you … you're seriously going to eat milk and cookies? I thought you hated sweets!"

He scratched the back of his head. "I do … except for one day a year."

Sakura let that sink in. "Is that because you have to, or are you saying that your Santa genes make you crave cookies on Christmas Eve?"

"Ah … the latter, pretty much," he chuckled, looking a little embarrassed.

"Normal genes don't work like that …" she frowned, then lifted an eyebrow at him. "You're even weirder than I thought."

Yuki discreetly hid a giggle behind his hand while Kakashi sighed. "Remember when you used to respect me?"

"Nope!" Sakura retorted, then stuck her tongue out at him cheekily.

It was Kakashi's turn to raise an eyebrow as he deliberately studied her mouth. "Don't make promises you don't intend to keep, _Sa-ku-ra_."

She blushed furiously when he met her gaze again, but she refused to back down. "I always keep my promises, _Ka-ka-shi_ …" she countered with just a hint of silkiness in her voice.

His eyes widened as if he hadn't expected her to respond like that, but they quickly darkened in a way that made her shiver in anticipation.

Unfortunately, she'd forgotten that Yuki was standing right there with them. He coughed awkwardly, then handed her the plate of cookies. "I'll just, um, go over there. Santa-sama, be sure to eat enough … you'll need your chakra tonight."

With that, he hurried away to where the other ninja were still convened in the middle of the room.

Clearing her throat, Sakura willed away her blush. "What do the cookies have to do with your chakra?" she asked.

"Mm, well," Kakashi started, then paused to chew.

_Wait, when did he …_

Shocked, Sakura looked down at the plate she was holding, and, sure enough, there were at least two fewer cookies in the pile.

"How do you _do _that?!" she exclaimed, just barely resisting the urge to stomp her foot in frustration. She was a skilled ninja, dammit, and she could have sworn she'd been watching him the whole time, but somehow he'd still managed not only to steal cookies practically right out of her hands but also to shove them in his mask-covered mouth without her noticing.

And then he had the nerve to chuckle. "Sorry, Sakura, it's a trade secret."

She scowled and turned her back to him. "That doesn't even make sense. These are my cookies now." With a vindictive huff, she took a big bite out of a frosted, Santa-shaped sugar cookie.

"Now, now," a deep voice spoke suddenly into her ear, almost causing Sakura to choke in surprise. "It's not fair to deprive Santa of the cookies he needs to keep his energy up while delivering all those presents …"

With some difficulty, she managed to swallow the bite she'd taken, but she remained otherwise frozen as the warmth of a strong chest came to rest against her back and a masculine arm reached around her to take a cookie.

"K-Kakashi?" she stammered.

Instead of moving away, he merely drew his arm back, and then she heard a brief rustling of his mask before his other hand found its way to her hip.

"Mm … I have to say, these cookies taste particularly good this year …" he mused, his tone low and intimate. "But that may be because of the company …"

Sakura's breathing stopped entirely, and she feared her heart would do the same as his mouth brushed gently against her neck. There was no mistaking his intentions anymore, not after that, and certainly not after he used his hold on her hip to pull her just that little bit closer.

"Kakashi …" she managed to get out, though she suspected it came across as more of a needy whimper than a warning. "There are people right over there."

His lips ambled up her neck to the space behind her ear, the fabric covering them adding a roughness that only made her temperature rise higher. "Is that your only objection?" he murmured.

His voice was honestly, truly sinful … she'd always found it attractive, but she'd had no idea what levels of wickedness he could use it for until that very moment. How was she supposed to think at all with that voice sending arousal swirling down to the space between her legs?

"You're not playing fair …" she breathed.

The hand on her hip slid around to her stomach, and she felt the muscles of his arm flex against her as he tightened his hold. "On the contrary, I'm not playing at all."

"What …?"

Kakashi nuzzled the hair beside her ear. "If there were no other people here, would you object to me touching you like this?"

"I—" She wanted to tell him that, no, no, she would not object, not one bit, but somehow her ability to form words seemed to have been erased by the intoxicating sensations he was bringing out in her, so all she did was shake her head in the negative before tilting it back until it almost rested on his shoulder.

"Good," he rumbled, and then she felt the tip of his tongue flick against her neck through the mask, and the quietest of moans left her throat. "Sakura …"

"Santa-sama, we need the bunshin," a clipped female voice interrupted suddenly.

Sakura straightened immediately, her cheeks flaming red as she realized exactly what she'd been doing and where, while Kakashi let out a deep sigh that sent strands of her hair dancing in its wake. When his hand slipped away and she was able to turn to see him, the expression on his face was one of pure annoyance.

"Just a moment, Umeko. I'm finishing my cookies," he responded, and Sakura looked over to find the kunoichi glaring daggers at her.

"She seems … angry," she commented wryly.

Kakashi let out about as obvious an irritated sound as he'd ever made, and she noticed that he was chewing yet again. She rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Umeko has been trying to get into my pants for as long as I can remember," he said, then glanced down at her. "And before you ask, no, she's never succeeded."

Sakura flushed and stared at her feet, embarrassed that he could read her mind so easily, but he just ruffled her hair lightly.

"I prefer women with pretty green eyes and fists that can punch through boulders."

She lifted said green eyes to meet his, which crinkled at the corners as his hand drifted from the top of her head down to caress her cheek briefly. His gaze was tender, and it made her heart pound even harder in her chest.

"I suppose that's convenient," she said quietly, "since it seems I prefer genius shinobi with a weakness for smut who are also secretly Santa Claus …"

Kakashi smiled warmly. "Very convenient indeed."

She returned his smile with a shy one of her own, and he gestured down to the now half-empty plate of cookies.

"Feel free to bite the head off another pastry version of me … I'm going to create a few clones." He winked, then made the sign for kage bunshin, and before she could even retort, there was a series of pops, and suddenly their end of the room was filled with a bunch of Kakashis.

She only had a moment to appreciate that many fine specimens of man in one place, because each bunshin quickly executed the henge jutsu, and instead of a bunch of hot Kakashis, she was faced with a bunch of fat, rosy-cheeked men with long, white beards and Santa suits on. Only the real Kakashi maintained his actual appearance.

"Don't look so disappointed," he remarked, and one glance at him revealed a knowing twinkle in his eye.

She sniffed, willing herself not to blush while she set the plate of cookies on the desk nearby. "Why would I be disappointed?"

Kakashi's mouth curled into a crooked grin. "I wonder …"

She did blush then in spite of herself, and he chuckled as he slipped a hand to her lower back and walked with her over to the table where the other ninja were standing, most of them awkwardly avoiding eye contact with their leader and his companion. Sakura was reminded all of a sudden that she'd almost let Kakashi feel her up in a room full of other people, and she ducked her head down to nibble nervously on the Santa cookie she'd stolen spitefully.. When she swallowed, she suddenly noticed something she hadn't before because her attention had been hijacked by a devilishly seductive Rokudaime.

"They're chakra-enhancing cookies!" she blurted out.

The room fell into silence until Kakashi smiled in amusement. "Yes, Sakura. It takes an awful lot of energy to maintain twenty-four henged clones using hiraishin for a whole day."

She took another bite to cover up her embarrassment. "That makes sense then," she mumbled, and Kakashi bent toward her.

"You're cute," he whispered, and she blushed brightly.

Umeko was tapping her foot rather loudly when he straightened back up. "Here's your route, Santa-sama," she said brusquely, handing him a sheet of paper. "If you can manage to pull yourself away from your ... _guest _… for a few minutes, it's time to summon the reindeer."

The piercing look she shot Sakura conveyed exactly how she felt about the pink-haired ninja, and Sakura had to suppress the urge to stick her tongue out in a good old-fashioned "nana nana boo boo" as she scooted a bit closer to Kakashi, who accommodated her new proximity easily. She was rewarded for her efforts when Umeko huffed and turned away.

Kakashi chuckled, lightly brushing his nose into the hair above her ear. "I didn't take you for the jealous type, Sakura," he teased.

In spite of the shivers his warm breath was sending down her spine, Sakura elbowed him in the ribs. "I would say I didn't take you for the smug bastard type, but that would be a lie," she shot back.

He laughed again, then pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head, instantly rendering her mute. "Let's go back outside … I need to summon the reindeer."

Still shocked by his blatant sign of affection (though really she supposed she shouldn't have been after all the funny business around the cookies), Sakura simply nodded and followed along as he led the way through the door and to the side of the garage, where they came to a wide clearing. Against the building was a long row of troughs filled with either water or what she assumed was reindeer moss.

"No stables?" she asked as Kakashi bit his thumb.

"They're not here long enough to warrant it … they spend most of their time in their domain," he replied, then swiped his thumb across his palm and slammed it down on the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

There was a loud poof, and when the smoke dissipated, Sakura's jaw nearly dropped to the ground … the entire clearing was completely filled with large, antlered reindeer.

"There have to be hundreds of them!" she exclaimed in awe.

"Four hundred, to be exact," Kakashi winked. "Eight per sleigh to cover the current round and prep the next round."

"Jeez …" she whistled. "No wonder you need those chakra cookies."

"Mmhm. Speaking of sleighs …"

Sakura turned and looked up at him over her shoulder to find his eyes glinting mischievously.

"Want to ride mine?"

She had to bite back a giggle at his obvious innuendo; he might as well have delivered the question with a pervy eyebrow wiggle for as undisguised as it was. "That doesn't sound inappropriate at all …" she deadpanned.

"Inappropriate? I hadn't noticed," Kakashi demurred, but the crooked grin he wore said otherwise.

She rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help smiling. "You're a terrible flirt."

"Perhaps," he shrugged. "But you're still blushing."

Sakura was about to protest that it was just the wintry air (and definitely not the mental images his phrasing had inspired) when Yuki rejoined them, followed by a small contingent of ninja.

"The genin will start with your sleigh, Santa-sama. It'll only take ten or fifteen minutes for them to get the reindeer hitched," Yuki said.

Kakashi nodded. "Well, I guess it's that time. Are you joining me, Sakura?"

In that instant, Sakura realized that, for some reason, it hadn't really clicked in her mind that Kakashi—_Hatake Kakashi_—would actually, personally, be flying in a sleigh to deliver presents. Even standing right next to him in the North Pole, having watched him eat milk and cookies, create two dozen bunshin disguised as Santa Claus, and summon four hundred reindeer, Sakura still struggled to picture it.

"Are you going to henge yourself into a fat, jolly old elf too?" she asked, a slight frown marring her brow.

"Why? Are you saying you wouldn't find me attractive if I were fat?" Kakashi teased, and Sakura flushed. Neither of them noticed Yuki sigh heavily and slink off.

"Who said I found you attractive in the first place?" she retorted.

Instead of replying immediately, he brushed a lock of hair away from her face, letting his fingers slide deliberately down her neck. His eyes followed their movement, and she had no doubt that he saw the goosebumps that arose in their wake.

"My mistake," he hummed at last, meeting her gaze with a look that told her she wasn't fooling him at all.

She huffed but didn't stop his hand from cupping her face. "You're the worst."

"Sakura, I deliver millions of Christmas presents every year to fulfill the dreams of small children … it's quite literally impossible for me to be the worst," Kakashi stated calmly, tracing his thumb over her cheek.

"... I suppose you have a point," she admitted grudgingly even as she leaned into his touch.

He chuckled, and his hand dropped to reach for hers. "Come on … it'll be fun. I might even let you drop off a gift or two."

Sakura sighed and took his outstretched hand, and they headed back around to the front of the garage, where the first few sleighs were already outside, reindeer hitched via harnesses bedecked with large jingle bells.

"Aren't those a bit noisy?" she asked, gesturing in the direction of the bells.

"We use hiraishin, so not particularly," Kakashi answered as he offered to help her up onto the sleigh.

"Hiraishin? I thought the Nidaime Hokage invented that jutsu …"

Kakashi scratched the back of his neck. "Um …"

She raised a brow.

"Well, hii ojiisan was really just the first to use it as a battle technique. He didn't actually invent it."

Sakura's mouth fell open. "The Nidaime was your great-grandfather?!"

"Ah … yeah …" Kakashi said, stepping up onto the sleigh.

She scooted over to make room for him. "But I thought he didn't have any kids?"

"He left them here with his wife during the wars, and they decided to stay even after Konoha was founded," Kakashi shrugged.

"I guess I can see that," Sakura agreed, and then her eyes widened. "Wait, does that make Tsunade-shishou …?"

"My second cousin? Yes," he affirmed.

"Does she know?!"

Kakashi glanced over at Sakura, amused. "You seem more shocked that I'm related to Tsunade-sama than that I'm Santa Claus, and I'm honestly not sure what to make of that."

Sakura tilted her head thoughtfully. "Actually, I kind of am, now that you mention it. So does she know?"

He laughed. "No, she doesn't, and she doesn't know about the whole Santa thing either. You're the only one … outside of the people here, of course."

At his admission, Sakura's heart was filled with a warmth that overshadowed all of her surprise, and the expression on his face made her cheeks flush.

"Here," he said, his voice suddenly softer as he reached into the back of the sleigh. "I had Yuki bring these out for you."

Without waiting for a reply, he wrapped a fluffy white scarf around her neck, then plopped a Santa hat on her head. When the hat fell past her forehead, he chuckled. "I guess it's a little big."

Giggling a bit herself, Sakura lifted the fuzzy edge of the hat so it rested toward the back of her head and instinctively snuggled into the scarf. She hadn't realized quite how cold she was until that moment, and she gave him a grateful smile that she wasn't sure he could even see from behind the cozy fabric.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

He looked at her tenderly again for a moment, then winked. "Now all you need is the red velvet dress …"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You're going to have to do better than that if you want me to wear an elf outfit."

Kakashi chuckled lightly at her imitation of him. "I guess it's a good thing I like a challenge then."

With a devilish grin, he gave the reins a quick snap, and they flashed out of the North Pole.

* * *

"Woah …" Sakura breathed when they landed, and then she smacked Kakashi's arm. "You could have warned me!"

He just crinkled his eyes shamelessly. "Where would be the fun in that?"

"I really don't know why I hang out with you …" she sighed.

"I imagine it's because I'm incredibly powerful and remarkably sexy, all while still managing to have an amazing personality."

"I'll give you the first one—you did become Hokage, after all," Sakura said flatly. "As for the other two …" She shrugged.

Kakashi feigned being wounded, and she had to hide a smile.

"That pout I'm sure you're wearing loses all effectiveness when hidden by a mask, I'll have you know," she told him.

"Still not good enough," he countered. "You must not _truly_ want to see my face."

Sakura tilted her head to the side. "Speaking of faces, shouldn't you be looking like Santa Claus about now?"

"Technically, I _do _look like Santa Claus … because I'm Santa Claus," Kakashi argued.

"You know what I mean, jerk."

"Well, considering Santa isn't supposed to be traveling with a lovely kunoichi, I cast a genjutsu on the sleigh to hide you. Figured I might as well genjutsu myself into looking like the stereotype while I was at it … that way, you wouldn't have to be disappointed." He smirked teasingly, and Sakura ignored the way her heart fluttered, instead pasting on a sweet smile.

"I appreciate that," she said with faux gratitude. "It _would_ be disappointing to be crammed into a sleigh with a fat man, after all. I do enjoy my space."

"Oh." Kakashi appeared crestfallen. "So you wouldn't like it if I were to do this?"

He leaned in closer, sliding an arm around her waist, his expression turning devious as he looked down at her.

Sakura forced back a blush. "I suppose I don't _always _require space," she admitted. "Where are we anyway?"

"It doesn't look familiar?"

At his prompting, she scanned the area. "We're in Konoha?"

"I would feel bad leaving my own village to a clone," Kakashi said simply.

A sudden thought occurring to her, Sakura flashed her eyes up to him warily. "How long have you, you know, _been _Santa?"

A grin spread across his visible features. "Sorry I couldn't make 'Sasuke-kun' your boyfriend," he apologized (without sounding especially apologetic).

"Oh god," Sakura moaned, both hands covering her face. "How embarrassing."

"If it makes you feel any better, I once got Sasuke a tomato plushie. It was his 'deepest, darkest secret that I was never to tell a soul about.'"

Her eyes widened. "How old was he?"

"Four, but that's beside the point."

They were both quiet for a moment, then Sakura nodded. "I bet he still has it."

Kakashi hummed in agreement. "Probably cuddles it every night."

He glanced down at her out of the corner of his eye, his expression totally serious, and she burst into giggles.

He smiled. "I also make Gai cry every year by giving him normal clothes instead of the green onesies he always asks for."

Sakura reined in a grin. "That's not very nice of you, Santa."

"He should be more creative with his wishes," Kakashi shrugged. "Also, those things are hideous."

"You're right about that," she agreed with a shudder. "But you know, somehow I'm not surprised that Gai-sensei still believes in Santa ..."

Kakashi nodded solemnly. "Not to would be to admit defeat in the face of the power of youth."

Sakura laughed. "That's probably exactly how he views it."

"Really, you could say I'm being kind …" Kakashi mused imperiously. "If I stopped bringing him presents, it would shake his faith."

"Psh," she snorted. "You just get a kick out of giving him the opposite of what he wants."

Kakashi grinned. "It _is_ pretty amusing to watch him do laps around the village, trying to make up for whatever imaginary sin caused Santa to ignore his requests …"

Sakura shook her head ruefully. "Whoever decided to make _you _Santa must have had a few screws loose."

"I take offense to that," Kakashi grumbled. "I'm an excellent Santa."

"Except for Gai."

"... except for Gai."

"And betraying Sasuke's trust."

Kakashi frowned. "... and betraying Sasuke's trust. Though in my defense, I did that to make you feel better."

Sakura raised her eyebrow. "Oh, come on … you know you've been dying to tell someone that forever."

"... maybe."

She giggled as he looked away in what was supposed to be shame but very clearly wasn't. "So how does this all work then?"

"Well."

He took his arm from her waist to untie the massive bag behind him. To her surprise, it was filled with well-organized stacks of hundreds of small scrolls.

"That makes so much sense," she said wonderingly.

"They do save an incredible amount of space," Kakashi agreed. "There's one per kid."

"Have you ever mixed them up?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Mm, there was one time when a jar of a rare species of beetle went to a civilian girl instead of the Aburame kid who'd asked for it …"

"Oof. I bet that didn't go over well …" Sakura grimaced.

"Oddly enough, she ended up becoming an entomologist."

Sakura blinked. "That's pretty funny actually."

Kakashi hummed in agreement. "The Aburame kid was less thrilled by the bike with rainbow streamers hanging from the handlebars, but you win some, you lose some."

Sakura chuckled. "I guess so."

"In any case, I just slip through the ceiling, unseal the scroll, and set out the presents, fill the stockings, etcetera."

"The ceiling thing is a jutsu?"

"Ah."

Sakura's brow furrowed in thought. "Can you teach me, or is it some kind of Santa-specific thing?"

"I can teach you … there are only a few signs actually," he said before proceeding to demonstrate. "Got it?"

"I think so."

"Let's go then." He grabbed the first scroll in the bag and jumped out of the sleigh, landing silently on the rooftop.

Sakura followed, and they both executed the signs for the jutsu. She watched as he appeared to sink into the tiles while she did the same, and a moment later, they were inside someone's living room.

* * *

"My butt hurts," Sakura complained as they arrived at the 103rd (give or take) residence of the evening. "Doesn't your butt hurt after sitting in this sleigh for hours? I mean, I know we're using hiraishin, but it's pretty uncomfortable when we land."

Kakashi looked over at her from where he was grabbing the appropriate scrolls as she climbed out onto the roof. "You're concerned about my ass?"

"Well, it _is_ a nice ass," she teased, hoping she sounded more confident than she actually felt.

He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you thought of me that way, Sakura."

"I didn't say you," she countered, fighting a blush. "I said your ass."

Kakashi's eyebrow rose higher.

She sighed dramatically. "Okay fine ... your abs are pretty nice too." She turned her head away. "And your forearms." She paused, feeling him step closer to her. "And I suppose I like your biceps."

"Ah, so it's all about my body then …" he drawled, and she glanced up at him, letting a hint of a challenging smirk play across her lips.

"Your eyes aren't bad either."

Clearly amused, Kakashi slid a hand slowly around to the small of her back, his touch sending sparks flashing through her body. "You're making me feel like a piece of meat, Sakura."

She ran her palms up his chest, and he wrapped his arms fully around her. The air between them fairly crackled in spite of the cold.

"Is that so bad?" she asked.

He grinned mischievously. "Not in the least."

One of his hands trailed up her shoulder until he was cupping her jaw, his fingers tangling in the hairs at the base of her neck, and his thumb caressed her cheek as he gently tilted her head back.

"If you're going to kiss me, Hatake, you'd better not do it with that mask on," Sakura warned, her eyes trained on his.

He chuckled. "I guess you really _do_ want to see my face …"

She glared at him. "No, you jerk," she growled, her frustration overriding any lingering nervousness. "I want to kiss you, and I don't want some damn fabric getting in the way."

Kakashi outright laughed at that, and Sakura wasn't sure whether it embarrassed her or made her angrier, which, in effect, resulted in the latter.

Before she could deck him, however, he took the hand that had been holding her head and unceremoniously pulled down his mask. Her eyes widened comically in surprise at seeing his whole (very handsome) face for the first time.

"Can I kiss you _now_?" he purred, and the rumble of his voice paired with a full view of the smirk she'd seen only through a mask before left her in a puddle.

"Yes," she murmured dazedly, and his smirk deepened as he lowered his head until their mouths were only inches apart and she could feel the warmth of his breath mingling with hers in the chilly night air.

Heart pounding, she watched his grey eyes drop to her lips, then lift lazily to meet her gaze again, heat swirling in their depths. Her hands continued to slide up his chest until they were wrapped around his neck and she had to stand on her tip-toes to get closer.

There was now less than an inch between their mouths, but still he didn't close the gap.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked, her voice husky.

"Mm," he hummed, the low sound reverberating pleasurably through her chest, and her eyes slid shut in anticipation. His head dipped down a little further until his lips lightly brushed against hers when he spoke. "I'm just savoring my Christmas present."

She smiled indulgently, her eyes fluttering open. "I'm your Christmas present?"

"Yes," he whispered, pressing a soft, slow kiss to one side of her mouth, then the other.

"I think you just get a kick out of teasing me," she huffed in spite of the way he was making her knees go weak, but any attempt at petulance was belied by the way she angled her neck as he pushed her scarf down to ghost his lips along her jawline. She couldn't deny that everything he was doing to her felt incredible, and some vaguely masochistic part of her was reveling in the building anticipation, in knowing that he was going to kiss her but not knowing exactly when.

His mouth drifted past the corner of her jaw, and she sucked in a breath when he took her earlobe between his teeth and tugged gently before letting go with a quick flick of his tongue. "I think you love it when I tease you," he argued, his deep voice sending shivers through her body. "What did you wish for this Christmas, Sakura?"

She bit back a moan at another nip at her ear. "Don't you already know?"

He paused his movements, resting the side of his forehead against hers. Even with all that they had been doing, it felt surprisingly intimate, and Sakura's heart squeezed as she tightened her hold on him.

"Not for sure," he said quietly. "... There's always a chance it was a green onesie."

She sighed in exasperation, but cracked a small smile anyway. "You're an idiot, though I'll give you credit for saying that completely seriously."

"Thank you."

He still hadn't lifted his head, so she could feel the quirk of his cheek against hers and knew he was struggling to keep a straight face. Only Kakashi would be having such a ridiculous conversation at a time like this, she thought with a mental eyeroll, but somehow she'd fallen in love with him anyway.

"I wished for the same thing I've wished for the last two years, Kakashi," she admitted, then stretched a bit taller to whisper in his ear. "You."

The hand at her back clenched the fabric of her shirt. "Say it again."

The raw need she heard in his demand, the way he gripped her body like he was barely maintaining control burned through her abdomen, and she was helpless to refuse him.

"I want you, Kakashi ... I _want you_," she breathed, and she heard a dark, desperate groan before he finally captured her mouth with his.

'Toe-curling' didn't even begin to describe his kiss … lips warm and soft, he guided her through his hold on her hair while his other hand—_so large_—made her feel arousingly small compared to him as it splayed across her shoulder blades. She loved the way he seemed to dominate her without making her feel weak, loved the way he overwhelmed her senses until she could barely think … his height, his broad shoulders and long fingers, his scent—metal, woodchips, thunderstorms, spice—and his strong arms that enveloped her completely.

She loved that the man she'd never thought would look at her as a womanwas kissing her breathless, kissing her like he'd been wanting her as much as she'd been wanting him.

"Kakash-" she moaned, but he stole the last syllable with a swipe of his tongue across her bottom lip.

When she let the tip of her own tongue slip out to tap his in return, he made a sound deep in his throat, almost a growl, and backed her into the side of the sleigh, pinning her between it and his hard chest.

She instinctively arched away from the unexpected bite of the cold metal, but it sent a thrill through her, and her movement pressed her breasts against his pectorals, making her sensitive nipples burn with the desire for him to touch them. There wasn't a sliver of space between them anymore, and she could feel him beginning to harden against her stomach. The image of what he could do with that, the knowledge that _she _was the one bringing that out in him … a strangled whimper escaped her lips, and it seemed to trigger something inside him, something that had him delving his tongue fully into her mouth, sweeping through it like it was his, like she belonged to him.

And she did.

"Kakashi …" she panted between long, desperate kisses as she grasped at his hair, his shoulders, anything to keep him close, and he echoed her moans, running his hands possessively along the curves of her body while keeping her trapped against the sleigh.

It was only when his fingers started teasing at the hem of her shirt that she began to come back to herself.

"Kakashi …" she sighed, trying to slow the kiss down even as her own body protested. "Don't you need …"

He cut her off with another pass of his lips over hers, but he freed her mouth soon enough to blaze a trail down the column of her neck instead.

"Don't you have to … have to finish … presents?" she asked brokenly, her focus repeatedly sidetracked by the caresses of calloused fingers over the skin of her hip or the light sucking of warm lips below her ear or the sting of small nips at her pulse point.

Her words eventually seemed to reach him, though, because Kakashi reluctantly pulled back to meet her gaze, his eyes filled with the same hazy lust she was sure was in her own. With a sigh, he brushed a lock of hair away from her forehead.

"I could summon a clone," he murmured. It sounded like a question.

Sakura looked down at his chest, not wanting him to know how badly she wished for him to do just that. "But … Konoha …" she whispered.

He tilted her head up with the gentle press of his fingers under her chin. "I think I can make an exception for one year."

She frowned. "Are you really …?"

"Sakura," he said, his tone serious. "A clone can handle it, just like they handle the rest of the world. Right now, all I want to do is curl up with you in front of a fire and kiss you until we both fall asleep."

The sincerity in his voice and his surprisingly romantic declaration had her stomach flipping in the best of ways.

"I think I'd like that," she agreed quietly, a smile curling at her lips.

He dropped both hands to the small of her back to keep her in a loose hug. "Then there's this little cottage I happen to know of in a small, snowy village that would be perfect for the job."

"Does it look like a gingerbread house?"

"It does."

"Is it a gingerbread house?"

"I'm not an old witch trying to lure kids to their death, Sakura."

"You could be."

"But I'm not."

"I'm just saying … I wouldn't have thought you'd turn out to be Santa Claus either ..."

* * *

Meanwhile, as Sakura exasperated a certain silver-haired man until he dragged her into a steamy kiss and poofed them away to a land far, far north of Konoha, a group of close friends lounged about a future Hokage's living room in various states of inebriation, the remnants of a large meal stacked in the kitchen behind them.

"Yeah, but, like, where do you think they are?" a hyperactive blond asked, sitting up just enough to take another drink.

"Who cares?" a surly dark-haired ninja sighed, his head falling back against the chair he sat in.

"Sakura wouldn't miss dinner without a reason though," the blond insisted.

"Oh, she has a reason …" a brunette cut in, his face lit eerily by the candles on the kotatsu.

The blond squinted. "What reason?"

"Kakashi obviously, dickless," came the answer from another, less surly, more monotone (yet somehow still antagonistic), black-haired man sitting on the couch.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

A violet-eyed kunoichi reached down to pet the blond head in her lap. "I think they mean that Sakura-san and Kakashi-sensei are _together_, Naruto-kun," she said softly.

"'Together'? Like …"

"Like they're dating, dobe," the surly one interrupted. "... Finally."

There was a chorus of agreement from the brunette, the antagonistic one, and the kunoichi, but the blond's eyes just widened. "Dating?!" he spluttered.

"They've been dancing around it for more than a year, Naruto," the brunette sighed.

"Your brain appears to be as absent as your dick, dickless

… even I saw it," the antagonistic nin added.

"Not helping, Sai," the brunette said evenly, his candlelit eyes staring down the man beside him. The man had enough of a sense of self-preservation to stop talking.

"I'm happy for them," the woman whispered.

The blond scratched his head, still obviously confused. "Well, I guess if you guys say so ..."

The surly one flicked a bottle cap at the blond. A bubbly, vaguely tail-shaped orange appendage appeared in time to deflect it, then disappeared again. "Just let it go, usuratonkachi."

"Please refrain from using your Kyuubi powers in the house, Naruto-kun," the kunoichi commented, and although her voice was quiet, the blond still blanched.

"S-sorry, Hinata-chan," he mumbled.

The surly one snorted. "Idiot."

A pair of violet eyes turned their focus to him. "And please refrain from throwing objects in the living room, Sasuke-kun."

To his credit, the dark-haired ninja didn't flinch, but he did nod and look away.

"I hope they're having a good time … senpai deserves some happiness," the brunette said wistfully, then hiccupped loudly.

"No doubt they're engaging in sexual intercourse by now," the less-angsty black-haired ninja declared with a bright smile.

"Ugh, Sai … I do not need to be thinking about that!" the blond moaned, holding his hands over his ears while the woman above him blushed and the surly one made a sound of disgust.

There was the clear echo of a hand smacking the back of a head. "Not helping, Sai …"


End file.
